French court fines Uber car service 100,000 euros

PARIS, Oct 16 (Reuters) - A Paris court fined the French
subsidiary of U.S. app-based ride service Uber 100,000 euros
($128,000) on Thursday for fraudulent business practices after
it advertised its paid transportation service UberPop as a car
pool.

UberPop, which the private company launched about a year ago
in Paris, links private drivers with passengers. Called a
"ride-sharing solution" by Uber, the service is now available in
five other French cities.

The court ordered that Uber post Thursday's ruling on its
websites.

The San Francisco start-up said in a statement it would
continue to operate UberPop while it appeals parts of the
decision.

"This decision does not call into question the service,"
Uber France CEO Thibaud Simphal told Reuters. "They just have to
set the conditions in which we can do it."

Courts in Germany have banned UberPop and the company's
low-cost limousine pick-up service UberBlack, saying their
drivers do not comply with German law for the commercial
transport of passengers.

Uber, which is available in 43 countries and was recently
valued at $18 billion, has faced disputes with taxi operators
and regulatory issues in many cities where it operates,
including in San Francisco.

Taxi drivers in Paris blocked traffic into the city centre
in a protest against Uber in June, action duplicated in London,
Berlin and Madrid.
(Reporting By Chine Labbe. Writing by Alexandria Sage)